BREAKING NEWS: Yankees acquired McCarthy for Nuno

JMandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

According to multiple reports via Rotoworld, breaking news from the New York Yankees is that they have shipped off the struggling Vidal Nuno to Arizona for Brandon McCarthy. While McCarthy has seen his fair share of struggles over the past few seasons, the Yankees’ must see the righty as an upgrade for their much maligned starting rotation. This spells even worse news for the current CC Sabathia situation.

Nuno, who was drafted by the Cleveland Indians, was signed away by the Yankees in 2011. The left-handed reliever/ starter made his Bronx debut in 2013, posting a 1-2 record but had a very respectable 2.25 ERA. His rookie performance kept Nuno in the hunt for the fifth starter slot in the rotation right down to the end of spring training but he eventually lost out to Michael Pineda and started the year in the bullpen. When injuries decimated the Yankees’ rotation, Nuno reentered the rotation, but with much inconsistency. He could not find the groove he had last season and was shelled more often than not. He finished his Yankees 2014 season with a dismal 2-5 record and a 5.42 ERA and a horrid 1.44 WHIP.

Brandon McCarthy was once considered one of the top up and coming pitchers in baseball. Drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 17th round of the 2002 June MLB Amateur Draft, McCarthy has never panned out to meet those expectations. The Yankees are McCarthy’s fifth stop in his nine-year career. McCarthy began to hit his stride in Oakland, but in the 2012 season he suffered a devastating head injury on a comeback liner. He hasn’t been the same since. With a career 4.21 ERA and a tendency to allow the long ball, McCarthy is a strange fit for the Yankees, but he is an upgrade over Nuno. McCarthy finished his 2014 Arizona Diamondback season with a 3-10 record and a 5.01 ERA over a league leading 18 starts.